Entrepreneurship
After failing an agreement to merge, you decide to take things into your own hands and enact a hostile merger. What is a hostile merger?
An acquisition in which the management of the acquired company fights the firm's buyout by another company.
You raise your price up to a premium price and sales increase. How would you explain this?
Consumers often associate higher prices with superior quality or status.
This creates a perception that the product must be more premium, exclusive, or reliable, so demand from consumers can rise.
What is the biggest risk in modern time entrepreneurship?
Being ignored
A retail brand’s new product launch flopped because the team focused too heavily on creative aesthetics and not enough on confirming actual market demand.
What strategic mistake did they make?
They failed to conduct sufficient market research.
The team prioritised branding over understanding customer needs, meaning the product did not fully meet the customer’s needs.
Why did the entrepreneur sit on a pile of cash?
To make some liquid assets.
Kanishk would like to know more about his competitors including their strengths, weaknesses, products, and ways of carrying out business. What would be the best way for him to figure out all this information?
Competitive analysis
Explain one benefit and one drawback of primary market research for a new business
Benefits:
Up to date
Collected for a specific purpose and is directly relevant to the business
Information is not available to competitors
Drawbacks:
Expensive
Time consuming
What is an incorporated cell company and where is it most prevalent?
a corporate structure that allows a parent company to create its own legally separate incorporated cells resulting in limited liability, it’s most prevalent in the Cayman Islands
A competitor releases a nearly identical product at a lower price. What strategy helps you avoid a price war while maintaining a premium image? (clue: name three things that you would emphasise)
Emphasise value beyond price:
Quality assurances, added services, emotional benefits, community, good customer service or long-term durability.
The idea is to shift the conversation away from price and toward why your offering creates more perceived value.
Why did the marketer go to art school?
To learn how to draw in customers.
What is the difference between the marketing mix and the product mix?
The marketing mix is about how to market a product and the product mix is about figuring out what product a firm should sell.
Name two ways you can extend a product’s life cycle
Increase the usage rate of the product (i.e: skin cream that has to be repeatedly bought as the product runs out)
Reducing the price of the product
Adapting the product to meet changing needs
Increasing promotions/advertising
Changing the image of the product
Your new product packaging design improves shelf visibility but inadvertently increases the perception of wastefulness among eco-conscious consumers. As the marketing director, what should you do?
Introduce supplementary communication that emphasises recyclability, material sourcing, eco-friendliness
→ Add QR codes, shelf talkers, and social media storytelling explaining environmental considerations behind the design.
By controlling the narrative around sustainability, you neutralise the negative perception without costly redesigns.
A fast-fashion brand’s Instagram ad campaign generates high engagement, but in store sales have not increased. What can the brand do to convert digital attention into in-store visits?
Bridge online-to-offline touchpoints by using location-targeted promotions, and limited-time in-store events.
Highlight exclusivity or urgency to create motivation to visit.
My dad used to be a banker, why do you think he quit?
Because he lost interest
Why do some businesses decide to stay small?
To allow for a more personal relationship between staff and consumers while avoiding the risks of diseconomies of scale (communication, motivation, etc.)
Your company wants to understand why some customers buy more frequently than others and why they choose certain products over competitors. Which marketing concept helps explain differences in behavior across consumer segments?
Market segmentation: allows brands to divide the total market into smaller groups based on similar characteristics/
→ understanding these can help companies tailor their marketing
While other companies spent months making their product “perfect,” Cluely launched quickly and improved as they went. They knew that being talked about was better than being ignored. What is this called?
Product orientation
A batch of 100 misprinted coupons goes live early. Should you publicly recall all coupons or let it pass? Why?
Let it pass
→ This protects trust, prevents backlash, and signals professionalism.
→ Short-term loss is outweighed by long-term brand credibility.
Complete the sentence:
I really wanted my bakery business to be a success. I guess I just …
wasn’t making enough dough.
A company encourages employees to carry out tasks while finding ways to improve them, such as a faster method for sorting paperwork. Some ideas succeed, while others fail. How is Kaizen applied here?
Kaizen is applied by having employees carry out their regular tasks while actively looking for ways to improve efficiency or processes, such as finding a faster method to sort paperwork.
A clothing brand subtly uses images and slogans that appeal strongly to a niche audience’s values, without explicitly stating them in mainstream ads. How could marketing leverage this “dog-whistling” tactic ethically and effectively?
Marketing can subtly signal shared values to a specific segment using visuals, language, or collaborations, building loyalty within that niche while remaining inclusive to the broader audience.
→ build deep emotional connection + loyalty without public backlash
What are the two different sources of finance?
(think about where the finance comes from)
Debt financing = finance acquired which will have to be paid back to the lender at a later stage.
Equity financing = funds provided from the owner’s own resources that do not have to be repaid
Your brand’s TikTok goes viral because people are mocking the product name. What branding strategy could turn this negative attention into positive brand equity?
Lean into the humour and reposition the brand with a more relatable, self-aware tone.
By participating in the joke (e.g., responding with playful content, releasing limited editions acknowledging the meme), the brand reframes mockery as engagement.
This can soften negative sentiment and build authenticity, which increases loyalty and likeability.
Complete the sentence:
I invested heavily in a hot balloon business. However, it …
Never really took off